This invention relates to ignition systems.
Conventional ignition systems employ a capacitor charged from a voltage source. When the charge on the capacitor has reached the necessary level, a switch is closed and the charge is applied to the primary windings of a transformer. The transformer acts to step up the voltage, the secondary windings being connected to a cable extending to an igniter mounted in a burner or the like. The igniter is often located some distance from the ignition system and is connected to it by a high voltage coaxial cable. Long cables of this kind act as transmission lines and seriously attenuate the fast pulses sent to the igniter electrodes. Furthermore, the charging of the self-capacitance of the cable absorbs much of the available energy and may result in insufficient energy at the igniter electrodes to produce reliable ignition.